


Orbiting (sequel to "Sun Poisoning")

by suecsit



Category: Cobra Kai, The Karate Kid
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, sequel to "Sun Poisoning"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 13:33:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15365769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suecsit/pseuds/suecsit
Summary: Daniel returns to his favorite spot on the beach.





	Orbiting (sequel to "Sun Poisoning")

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you have a wonderful day, Cobras!

A few weeks ago, Johnny was cleaning up in between customers when he first saw him. When he looked out the window, Daniel was sitting on a bench just in front of his bar, staring out at the ocean. His legs were splayed out, and he was slumped down a bit, the inverse of the image he presented in his Larusso Auto commercials. His silk purple tie was off, and he held it in his hands and kept winding it around his fingers.

Johnny couldn’t help but think that the more relaxed, apathetic stance worked for him a little bit. Daniel always seemed tightly wound in those commercials and on the day he wandered into the bar for the first time. The kid he’d known in high school was scrappy and messy, and his current slouch brought back fond memories. 

He remembered one day when Daniel literally backed into him in the halls when he was waving goodbye to Ali and her friends. Johnny towered over him, it seemed, at least in those days. “Watch yourself,” he had grumbled, knowing full well that the deal Kreese made with Daniel’s sensei prevented him from causing damage. 

“Sorry,” Daniel mumbled and began to turn away. Then he suddenly turned back, an about face that gave Johnny whiplash. “Do you ever think you might be wrong?” he asked, his eyes wide and thoughtful. He stood far too close.

“Get out of here,” Johnny hissed, “or I’m going to give you another lesson in taking a fall. I don’t care what Kreese says.” He was trapped between the crowd exiting one classroom and waiting for the next bell to ring. People were jostling Daniel in the halls, and he was getting knocked from side to side, but he maintained eye contact and wanted an answer to the question.

“No, I mean, maybe you’d like me if you got to know me,” Daniel said earnestly. 

Johnny couldn’t help but smile. “I know you,” he said. “And I don’t like what I know. Scram.”

“Whatever, man, it’s just—“

“You want me to learn all of your deep dark secrets? Ok, here’s one I already know.” Johnny stepped directly into Daniel’s personal space, and the crowds around him faded to a dull grey. “You stare at me a lot when you think I’m not looking. Does Ali know how much attention you pay me?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Daniel took a small step back. He had that look Johnny had begun to know all too well. That look that said /I should think before I do these things, but it’s too late now and I hope I don’t end up in a hospital somewhere/. 

“You’re obsessed with me, Larusso. Sometimes I think you’re LOOKING for a beating. Or something else.”

Daniel shook his head. “You’re sick,” he muttered.

The bell rang, and students dispersed. Johnny turned away from Daniel and took out his math textbook for class. 

Since the incident on the Fourth of July, the one where Daniel had passed out in front of him, the man had taken to visiting that very bench at least three times during the week. Johnny guessed that if you owned five dealerships you could take long lunches and drive to wherever you pleased on your break. Still, there were plenty of beaches in Los Angeles, and Johnny found it somewhat humorous that he always picked this one. Not only that, but Johnny occasionally felt the hair on his neck stand up as if sensing that he was being watched. Still, every time he glanced back at the bench, Daniel was facing the water instead of him. 

Maybe he was losing his mind, but he didn’t think so. 

One day, months later, when business was particularly slow, he walked outside, pretending to straighten the deck. Daniel pretended not to notice, which made Johnny laugh a little under his breath. Or at least he thought it was under his breath.

“Something funny?” Daniel asked, without turning around.

“Nope,” Johnny said, using his rag to wipe the tables just outside the door. “Just awful curious why you keep showing up here.”

Johnny found it interesting that neither had even made eye contact, but they were still aware of the other’s movements and sounds. He heard Daniel shift in his seat and lay his arm across the backrest of the bench.

“Helps me clear my head is all,” he responded. 

“Because it seems like you’re following me around—“

“I’m not following you around.”

“Why don’t you choose another bench then? The one down there,” he motioned, “actually has a better view.”

Daniel didn’t answer.

“Some things never change,” Johnny said, taking his rag and cleaning products indoors and shutting the screen door with a little more noise than necessary.

After about ten minutes, he heard the door creak open again. He was facing the bottles when it happened, but he was all too aware who it was.

“I’ve been trying to say thank you, that’s why I was out there,” Daniel mumbled. He stood up straighter and cleared his throat, attempting to make eye contact without turning red. “So, thank you. For this summer.”

“You mean when you threw up?”

“You know that’s what I’m talking about.” 

“Not a problem,” Johnny said. “Happens to a lot of people.”

“Yeah, well, not to me.”

“Ha.”

“What?”

“The great Daniel Larusso is immune to sun poisoning then? I didn’t know. That really must have been traumatic for you.”

Daniel moved toward the bar, clearly agitated. “No, wise guy, I’m not immune. I just don’t usually faint in front of the bully from high school who beat me up on a regular basis. That part’s new.”

“Yeah, well, I could have beaten you up when you got sick. I didn’t.”

“I know.”

“Besides, last time we fought you kicked me in the face. Illegally I might add.”

“Right. Because your dojo wasn’t trying to cripple me or anything.”

Johnny looked him up and down. “Seems as if you recovered,” he observed, a small smile playing at his lips. “You look healthy to me.”

Daniel held Johnny’s gaze, wanting to win the staring contest but feeling too self-conscious. He felt warm suddenly, and heat crept up his neck. “Well, I had to look better than the last time you saw me, that’s for sure.” He looked back out at the water. “What did you mean…some things never change?”

“You always blush that easily?” Johnny picked up a glass, dipped it in ice, and filled it with Coke. He pushed it across the bar. “I mean you’re always watching and following me. It took me years to figure out why.”

"Ha," Daniel scoffed, "Your ego is bigger than ever." Still, he pulled up a chair and accepted the drink. An awkward moment of silence passed. He pulled out his phone to check his messages. There were none, but Johnny didn’t need to know that. 

Johnny chuckled. “Drink the Coke, or you might pass out again,” he smirked.

“I’m not going to pass out again…” He took a large gulp. Some of it ran down his chin and on to his white collared shirt. 

“Careful, princess,” Johnny said, reaching for a napkin. He was about to hand it to Daniel, but instead he reached out to wipe the brown drops of liquid off of his chin and neck. Anything to get Daniel to blush again, he thought. 

Without thinking Daniel’s arm went up as if to block Johnny from hitting him. 

“Relax,” Johnny said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. “I was just trying to help.”

“I don’t watch and follow you. I don’t do it now, and I sure as hell didn’t do it then.”

“Fine,” Johnny relented. “I must have had you confused with someone else. I distinctly remember you asking me if I ‘liked you’ one day before class.” He used air quotes to taunt the man in front of him, but he wasn’t sure he used them correctly. His social skills were rusty in some areas.

“I never did that.”

“Did too.” 

“Well, if I did, it didn’t happen the way you’re describing it.” Daniel moved the ice around in his glass, a nervous habit he had picked up in acquiring a taste in fine wine. If he swirled the liquid, it would taste better and he would look like he was in control. “You ever do karate anymore?” 

“Nah, no time. I’m here every day,” Johnny replied, wiping the counter. “Thought about opening my own school once. Didn’t happen.”

“Your own school?”

“Yeah. Big problem with that though.”

“What?”

“I don’t like kids,” Johnny smiled at Daniel. “Never have.” 

Daniel returned the smile. “You have any kids of your own?”

“One. He lives with his mother.” Johnny turned away. He began to wipe some glasses clean, as if the conversation were closed.

“But it looks like YOU’VE got your hands full,” Johnny mentioned. “Those two have you running around all day like this summer?”

“Sometimes,” Daniel said. He didn’t seem interested in talking about kids either. Johnny found that interesting. Daniel watched him wipe the dishes dry and stack glasses on the shelf. “How did you know you wanted to open your own place down here?”

“How did you know you wanted to open a dealership?” Johnny countered, still facing the shelf.

“I had a family that was putting pressure on me.”

“Sounds like a shitty reason to start a career.” He turned back and leaned on the counter.

“Maybe,” Daniel said. Johnny felt suddenly sorry for him. Daniel looked like he might be on the verge of some kind of mid life crisis. This was bad because he wasn’t that good at comforting other men. Hell, he wasn’t good at comforting anyone usually. The stereotype of the bartender psychologist had always eluded him, or so he believed. It didn’t stop people from spilling their secrets to him, though. 

Still, he could offer one thing. “You want to add something to that Coke?” Johnny asked. He reached for the Jack Daniels and held it up.

Daniel pushed his glass over and let the man mix it in. 

/You want me to learn all of your deep dark secrets?/ 

Voices from Johnny’s past rose and fell in his mind like dust settling on old photo albums that had been disturbed. He watched Daniel suck down the beverage and looked at him fondly. He couldn’t help it.

“What?” Daniel said, putting the drink down and then changing his mind and taking another gulp. 

“I had a crush on you in high school, “ Johnny admitted.

Daniel spit the drink out, coughing as it went down all the wrong passageways. More brown drops made their way onto his shirt. Johnny laughed and tossed him a towel.  
“You’re being an asshole,” he choked a little, trying to catch his breath.

“I did. No reason to hide it. It’s been over 30 years. And I’m pretty sure you had one on me.”

“You’re delusional,” Daniel protested. “I’m a happily married man. I’ve never dated men. If you do, that’s great for you, man, but I’m not on that side of things. Never have been.”

Johnny nodded. “You ever think that maybe you’re the delusional one?”

“Nope. I’m good. You, on the other hand, need to see a therapist. ” Daniel stood up, straightening his jacket and putting his wallet back in the pocket after leaving a ten behind on the bar. “Thanks for the drink,” he said, looking the other way. 

“It’s my pleasure.” Johnny grinned at him. “Come back anytime.”

Daniel mumbled something under his breath that included some foul language. “Right. Like that’ll happen.”

Johnny laughed again. It was fun to watch Daniel get his bearings. He fumbled to find his tie and draped it around his neck. “You need me to call a cab or something?”

“I had half a drink, Johnny. I’m not that much of a lightweight.” 

“Yeah you are. You’re still a little scrawny. It’s a good look on you.”

Halfway through the commentary Daniel had slammed the door and left.


End file.
